1,000-name petition begs to halt deportation of Nelson man

Sam Wright (23) had applied for a long-term visa to stay in the country so he could stay with his family to care for his sick mother but this was turned down.

He has been detained by the UK Boarder Agency for the past couple of weeks and his flight back to America has been scheduled for tomorrow morning.

In an effort to delay the process while Sam appeals, Pendle’s MP Andrew Stephenson presented a petition to parliament on Wednesday morning.

Mr Stephenson said: “The petition was a way for me to flag the issue up which is of great concern to the people of Pendle. It will now be sent to the Home Office and hopefully they will review the case.

“The petition though is just one part of it, we have collected a lot of evidence as justification of why Sam should be allowed to stay. I have also been in regular contact with the UK Boarder Agency and immigration minister Damian Green about the case so I hope we can get the result we want.”

Sam has been living with his mother and stepfather in Rowland Avenue, Nelson, for two years and claims he has built a life in Pendle.

His mother, Rosaria Motyka (54), suffers from the painful muscular illness fibromyalgia as well as arthritis and Sam is heavily involved in her care, cooking, cleaning and taking her out. His long-term girlfriend Bethany Dyson (19) lives nearby in Laneshaw Bridge.

While he has been living in Pendle, Sam has been involved with several community projects, including setting up a Neighbourhood Watch programme in the Marsden area.

He applied for a long-term visa to stay in the UK in December 2009 but, due to complications with the system, missed the deadline and ended up accidentally overstaying illegally.

Sam was arrested by the UK Boarder Agency last week and held at a detention centre in Manchester before being transferred to Doncaster.

Speaking from the centre, Sam said: “I have never intentionally done anything wrong, I’ve always been open about my case and never tried to mislead anyone.

“While I have been detained I have been working hard on my case trying to prove to the UK Boarder Agency my life is here and it is against both mine and my family’s human rights to send me away.

“I have filled in a form for a judicial review at the High Court which I hope will stop my flight and give me time to put forward all my evidence.

“The best case scenario would be for me to be able to leave the detention centre and get temporary admission which would extend my visa and give them time to reconsider my case. I’m not going to give up until I’m back with my family and my girlfriend again.”

There is still time to sign Sam’s petition by going online and typing savesam.tk into a search engine.